Two ways to run OpenBoxes

OpenBoxes is free, open-source software, and Lift is the managed way to run it. Both paths get you the exact system you just tried in the demo. The difference is who does the work: you, or us.

Self-Hosted OpenBoxes

Free software. Your infrastructure, your time.

  • The software costs nothing. Download it and run it anywhere
  • You provide a server: roughly $20–60/month at a host like DigitalOcean or AWS, or your own hardware
  • You install and configure it yourself: Linux, MariaDB, and a Java web stack; plan on hours to days
  • You own the upkeep: upgrades, backups, security patches, and monitoring, for as long as you run it
  • Best for teams with in-house technical capacity who want full control of their stack
Read the install guide Community forum →
Up and running today

OpenBoxes Lift

Same software, fully managed. We do the work.

  • From $75/month with founding-member pricing: hosting, backups, upgrades, and support included
  • Your instance is provisioned automatically in minutes, with a 30-day free trial
  • White-glove onboarding: our engineers import your data and configure your system with you, usually in minutes
  • Upgrades, security patches, daily backups, and monitoring handled for you, backed by a 99.0% uptime SLA
  • Best for teams who'd rather run their operation than their servers
Start your 30-day free trial See pricing →

The honest comparison

Cash cost is only half the picture. The real difference is time. Coming soon means we are building it and it is not available yet; we do not publish dates.

Software licenseSelf-hosted Free & open source OpenBoxes Lift Free & open source, the same code
Monthly costSelf-hosted Roughly $20–60 for a server, before your team's time OpenBoxes Lift From $75 with hosting, backups, upgrades, and support included (founding-member rate; $150 regular)
Time to launchSelf-hosted Hours to days of installation and configuration OpenBoxes Lift Minutes, provisioned automatically
Getting your data inSelf-hosted Your scripts, your spreadsheets, your time OpenBoxes Lift White-glove import by our engineers, usually in minutes
UpgradesSelf-hosted You test and apply each release OpenBoxes Lift Applied for you
BackupsSelf-hosted You build, schedule, and test them OpenBoxes Lift Automatic and daily, with 30-day retention
Security patchesSelf-hosted You track and apply them OpenBoxes Lift Applied for you
Skills requiredSelf-hosted Linux, MariaDB, and Java web app hosting OpenBoxes Lift None, just a browser
SupportSelf-hosted Community forum OpenBoxes Lift Chat support, plus the same community
ControlSelf-hosted Total: it's your server OpenBoxes Lift Full application admin; we run the infrastructure
API accessSelf-hosted The same REST API; you manage server access and the session behind it OpenBoxes Lift The same REST API, plus API keys you create, expire and revoke from the portal
WebhooksSelf-hosted One built-in event (shipment shipped) to a single URL set in a config file, off by default OpenBoxes Lift Eleven event types, signed and retried, to endpoints you manage yourself
Stock alertsSelf-hosted A nightly alert email is built in, once you run a mail server, turn mail on, and give people the notification roles OpenBoxes Lift The same reorder and expiry views in the app, plus a daily below-minimum / nearing-expiry email you opt into. The below-minimum half covers only products with a minimum set (reorder points are not used by it), and the nearing-expiry half does not use minimum levels at all. PagerDuty opens an incident, and Slack and Microsoft Teams post a channel message, for a stock-out only (a product with a minimum set at zero), never for below-minimum or expiry. Shared and Dedicated instances alike.
DHIS2 reportingSelf-hosted Not built in; you would write your own script against the DHIS2 API OpenBoxes Lift Your monthly stock report filled into your DHIS2 form, sent by you or on a schedule after each month closes. Included on every plan.
Connectors (Zapier, n8n)Self-hosted Wire them to the API yourself OpenBoxes Lift The same today. Coming soon native connectors for Zapier and n8n
AI assistantSelf-hosted Not built in OpenBoxes Lift Ask about stock, expiry dates and stock movements in plain words, inside OpenBoxes, at the locations you can open. It can also prepare draft stock requests for a person to confirm, if the account owner turns them on; it never submits one. With separate switches the account owner turns on, it can also make stock changes a person confirms (receiving and cycle counts on Shared and Dedicated; recording stock quantities on Shared only). Off until the account owner turns it on; once it is on, 100 questions a month on Shared, 500 on Dedicated, 2,000 on Enterprise; on Shared and Dedicated, more in packs of 500 for $25 a month (up to 4), bought only while it is on.
A safe place to testSelf-hosted Stand up a second server and keep it in step yourself OpenBoxes Lift Staging copies of your live instance, by the day, on Dedicated and Enterprise
Growing beyond your planSelf-hosted A bigger server, and the work of moving onto it OpenBoxes Lift Add users, storage or API capacity from the portal, on Shared and Dedicated. Longer retention and Priority Support are Shared add-ons. Dedicated and Enterprise include that support target already.

The full integrations catalog (what connects today, what is being built and what starts on request) is on the integrations page, and every add-on price is on pricing.

Bring your data. We'll do the heavy lifting.

Wherever your inventory lives today, our engineering team provides white-glove onboarding: we import your data and configure your system to your needs, usually in minutes, not weeks.

From spreadsheets

Send us your Excel or CSV exports (products, stock levels, locations, suppliers) and we map and load them for you.

From another system

Moving off a different inventory tool? We help extract your data and rebuild it in OpenBoxes.

From self-hosted OpenBoxes

Already running OpenBoxes yourself? We migrate your existing instance onto Lift: data, users, and configuration.

Curious how it works? Read about migrating your data, or just ask us below.

Weighing self-hosted against managed?

Ask what each path really takes: cost, skills, migration, lock-in. Honest answers, including when self-hosting is the right call for you.

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See your own data in OpenBoxes

Start a 30-day free trial. Founding-member pricing locks in 50% off for 24 months, available until December 31, 2026, and our team helps you import your data and get set up.

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